The present invention relates to a means for accommodating an ink roller which comprises a circular cylindrical ink carrier body and end discs which are disposed at the end faces thereof and the diameter of which is greater than that of the ink carrier body.
Ink rollers are employed in printing apparatuses for inking the print types prior to carrying out the actual printing operation. For example, DE-OS No. 2,502,108 describes the use of an ink roller in a hand labelling apparatus where it inks the print types of a printing mechanism accommodated in the apparatus before a pressure sensitive label is provided with an imprint. Such ink rollers may also be used in stamps which operate with automatic type inking.
The ink with which the ink roller is impregnated can hardly be removed from a surface on which it has been imprinted. This naturally very desirable property of the ink requires particular precautions when handling the ink roller and in particular when replacing a used ink roller by a new roller in order to avoid soiling the fingers or clothing of the operator.
The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which permits clean storage and manipulation of new and used ink rollers.
According to the present invention this object is achieved in that U-shaped shells connected together are provided whose width at their open ends is equal to the width of the ink roller to be accommodated, whose depth is equal to the diameter of the end discs of the ink roller to be accommodated, said shells having at their two sides regions which act as clamps for the end discs, the width of the one shell being constant over its entire depth and the width of the other shell increasing from the open end in the direction towards the closed end. The means according to the invention make it possible to remove a used ink roller from the printing mechanism without having to touch the ink roller with the fingers. Thereafter, the new ink roller held by the means can be inserted into the printing mechanism and this is also done without any direct contact with the ink roller. The used ink roller remains in a relatively protected position in the means according to the invention, substantially reducing the risk of unintentional contact therewith.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.